Latest Health IT Stats, Challenge Winners, and Workshop Details

In This Issue

New Report: Examining the HITECH Era and the Future of Health IT

Since the passage of the HITECH Act, the health IT landscape has dramatically evolved. Hospitals and health care providers are using health IT at unprecedented levels. In 2008 only 17 percent of physicians and nine percent of hospitals had at least a basic EHR. In 2015 adoption exploded – 96 percent of hospitals and 78 percent of physician offices were using certified EHR technology. This new report from ONC looks at the journey the nation has made over the past eight years and where it is headed. Read the full report (mobile-friendly).

Get All the Latest Health IT Stats at Your Fingertips

ONC’s new Health IT Data Summaries web-app lets you create a custom summary of the latest national and state health IT data to quickly navigate the most up-to-date data on the Health IT Dashboard. Choose from a range of health IT topics, including: EHR adoption, health information exchange, health IT vendor market share, and programs funded by the HITECH Act. The app uses ONC’s open data, so all the data you see is available for your use. Check out the web-app on your mobile device or personal computer today!

Phase 2 of the Move Health Data Forward Challenge Is Now Underway

ONC recently announced the Phase 1 Winners of the Move Health Data Forward Challenge. The ten winners were selected based on their proposals for using application programming interfaces (API) so that consumers will be able to share their personal health information safely and securely with their health care providers, family members, or other caregivers. Each Phase 1 Winner will receive a $5000 award and will move to Phase 2, where up to five finalists will be creating prototypes and testing the performance of their solutions before being able to advance to Phase 3.

Two Programs for Behavioral Health Work and HIE Highlighted

Two of ONC’s Advance Interoperable Health Information Exchange (HIE) program awardees are featured “bright spots” for their work connecting behavioral health providers to HIE services. South Carolina Health Information Partners is working closely with the State Department of Mental Health connecting mental health providers to strong communities of care and providing them with the tools they need to access patient’s medical history, medication lists, and lab results via the South Carolina Health Information Exchange (SCHIEx). Read more about their work [PDF-339 KB].

In Arkansas, the Office of Health Information Technology (OHIT) is driving adoption of HIE among behavioral health providers. OHIT has developed a robust and systematic onboarding process to familiarize providers with data exchange and increase utilization, including a readiness assessment, comprehensive training sessions, ongoing support and technical assistance, and surveys to evaluate user satisfaction. Read more about their work [PDF-347 KB].

A Record to Rely On: A Workshop on the Intersection of Electronic Health Records, Health Law, Payment, and Oversight

ONC is holding a 1-day workshop focused on the use of clinical documentation—as captured by EHRs—in legal, payment, and oversight contexts. The workshop will bring together panels of experts to discuss the current landscape around how EHRs have been used as a record in the legal environment and for purposes such as medical documentation, claims support, audit trail records, and fraud identification.

Date & Time: Tuesday, November 29, 2016 9:00am – 5:00pm ET

Location: Hubert H. Humphrey Building, Room 800, 200 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20201

Upcoming Federal Advisory Committee Meetings

Standards: 2017 Interoperability Advisory Task Force

Date & Time: Thursday, November 10, 2016 2-3:00pm ET

Learn more about the FACAs.